The album is exceedingly rare, so rare in fact that nobody seems to know just how many illustrations were originally issued. The lithographs were published through a monthly subscription between 1839 and 1842 but only later editions, from the mid-1850s, appear to be 'complete' (complete being 27 plates and 2 maps; whereas the original series may have included up to 49 plates). Original incomplete sets fetch over $10,000 when they surface at auction every decade or so and even the later 1855 edition(s) sell for more than $5000.

The value of the prints comes not just from their relative scarcity, but because the chromolithographs are widely regarded as the finest pictorial record of daily life in Cuba in the 19th century. The views include urban/landmark prospects in Havana and other port cities, scenes of daily life, folk customs and the period costumes of the people, including Afro-Cubans and European visitors. The cumulative effect of these diverse visual compositions is to bring the vibrancy of the island to life.

The artist responsible for the album (no text) was the Frenchman, (Pierre Toussaint) Fréderic Mialhe (1810-1881), who lived in Cuba for sixteen years from 1838. Mialhe was hired as a landscape artist for a fledgling French lithography firm in Cuba that came to overtake the established Spanish printshop run by the Costa brothers. Part of the reason for the confusion surrounding the the numbers in Mialhe's first series was due to his providing three somewhat similar lithographic suites during his time in Cuba. They are: 'Isla de Cuba', 'Isla de Cuba Pintoresca' and 'Viaje Pintoresco al Rededor de la Isla de Cuba'. Each series was published in multiple editions and in various languages, quickly obscuring the true record of production.

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Thanks so much for this post! I think it's fascinating that the album had no text; I can't draw any parallels (due to my shocking ignorance of history). And on a side note, the eleventh litho shows a train and its track in shallow water. Is it just me or is that wierd? And can you make out what it's hauling?

Amazing, Cuba was a more livable country then! The freed slaves were happy and dancing in the streets without any laws penalizing public gatherings, the places were well kept!! Colonial time seems like an advanced stage in our civilization, compared to our present decadence.

Thanks. Yeah, that train caught my eye too. My (big) guess is that the train is dedicated to ferrying coffins: I presume that building up from the terminus is a church. I would not be a lot of money on it, but I would be some. $5 at 2:1But the train line in the water is kind of crazy.

Is anyone familiar with Litho "VISTA DE LA ENTRADA DE MATANZAS POR LA PARTE DE PUEBLO NUEVO"? I have a black and white copy...shows boats in canal with buildings on both sides and a walking bridge in the distance connecting the two sides. I have searched everywhere and this is the closest I've come to identifying it. I was hoping it would be included in examples provided on this page. Thanks.